Dealing with Arlong

The next day.

Inside Nami's house.

Moya slowly opened his eyes. Gone from his gaze was the devil-may-care immaturity from before his transmigration, and gone too were the anxieties and hidden ruthlessness of someone who overthought every step.

In their place was a more resolute, indifferent heart of a powerhouse, paired with an indomitable fighting spirit.

This was the change brought about by the awakening of Conqueror's Haki.

Gently moving Nami aside, Moya quietly got out of bed and walked out the door.

"Silent Instant Slide."

Moya appeared on a cliffside. Looking out at the boundless sea, his body gave a sudden jolt, and the bandages covering him shattered and scattered across the ground.

His increasingly toned muscles were revealed. Following his re-awakening of Armament Haki and his initial awakening of Conqueror's Haki, his physical constitution had undergone another qualitative transformation.

He was stronger, and more resilient.

Although both forms of Haki were currently not fully under his control—triggering only under critical conditions—this did not hinder the way Haki tempered and improved his body.

A powerful physique generates Haki, and in turn, Haki nourishes and tempers the weaker parts of the body.

Moya sat naked on the cliff, quietly contemplating his future path.

He was aware of the changes in his body and spirit, and he knew he had re-awakened Armament Haki and likely awakened Conqueror's Haki as well.

It was just that he could not yet use them proficiently.

Armament Haki was fine; he had the training methods provided by Hawkeye. But as for Conqueror's Haki, he currently understood nothing at all.

After sitting for over two hours, Moya had considered many things: his path of cultivation, the development of the Moya Adventure Group. His thoughts began to wander, and he fell into deep contemplation.

The three Ancient Weapons—Poseidon Shirahoshi and the blueprints for Pluton—must be obtained!

One can choose not to draw their sword, but one must possess the sword to begin with.

Nuclear deterrence has always been the guarantee of a great nation's international status.

In that case, he certainly could not become a Marine.

Joining the Revolutionary Army was also impossible for the time being to avoid drawing attacks from the World Government, though making contact was an option.

As for becoming a pirate, Moya truly did not want to.

However, with so many pirates on his own ship, the Marines would discover them sooner or later. He would inevitably be branded a pirate by the Marines and placed on their wanted list, which would make being a pirate hunter or an adventure group moot.

Since his adventure group would eventually be branded as pirates by the Marines anyway, to minimize losses, Moya decided he must definitely try for the path of the Shichibukai!

Doflamingo's approach seemed to align quite well with his own intentions.

Ultimately, Moya temporarily decided on his future path.

Nami woke up in a daze and, finding Moya missing, rushed out to look for him. She alarmed everyone, and within half an hour, she had mobilized everyone to search for Moya.

"Moya was still severely injured, why would he disappear for no reason? It's all my fault for not keeping an eye on him!"

Nami said, her eyes red with self-reproach.

"It's alright, Captain Moya is very strong. Perhaps he went out to train by himself; he might be back in a little while," Nojiko said softly, stroking Nami's hair to comfort her.

"Brother Moya wouldn't leave us behind. We have to believe in Brother Moya," Rika added.

Although Kaya and Maddie were worried, they echoed Rika's words.

A shadow flashed by in an instant, but ignoring the women, it slipped into Nami's house.

"It's Moya!" Nami shouted excitedly, rushing back home.

The other women followed behind Nami, running as well.

Moya, having reappeared in Nami's room, scanned the space and felt a moment of confusion. Something seemed off; he had come to the wrong place.

He didn't seem to see his clothes here, and the naked Moya fell into deep thought.

Just then, Nami ran back in, followed by the others. The first thing Nami saw upon entering was the naked Moya, and her pretty face flushed red.

"Pervert! Lecher!"

The other women also saw Moya and covered their eyes with both hands, looking incredibly shy, yet they couldn't help but peek through their fingers to steal a few glances at Moya's perfect physique.

Nami immediately covered Rika's eyes.

"Don't look!"

"Why? I can't look!" Rika protested indignantly.

Seeing the women, a strange thought suddenly flashed through Moya's mind, but he ultimately cast it out of his head.

Moya remained calm, his expression blank. As if nothing were amiss, he found a bedsheet to cover his lower body and slowly turned around, letting the women see his abdominal and chest muscles, which immediately drew all their gazes.

Moya slowly draped the sheet around his waist and asked indifferently, "Is something the matter?"

Nami's pretty face was bright red, but at the thought of her man being seen by all these women, she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.

"Do you have any idea how worried everyone was when you disappeared like that for no reason! You jerk! Exhibitionist! Scoundrel!! Pervert!!"

As she spoke, Nami rained little punches down onto Moya's chest.

Watching Nami, who wanted to hit him but didn't dare use any real force, Moya pulled her into a sudden embrace. He inhaled the scent of her hair deeply, savoring the tranquility of the moment and the soft sensation of her body against his.

Feeling the change in Moya, Nami's face turned even redder, and she jumped back in a hurry.

"Ah~ shameless! There are so many people watching!"

The other women also flushed bright red and scattered in a flurry. Only Rika, looking dazed and confused, didn't react in time, and was eventually dragged away by Kaya.

Once the women had left, Moya could no longer hold back. Bang! The door was slammed shut, and before long, the sound of Nami singing drifted out.

Feeling refreshed, Moya stroked Nami as she lay in his arms.

To sleep drunk on a beauty's lap and wake to hold the power of the world—this was perhaps the ultimate ideal for every man.

And in the world of One Piece, all of this required sufficient strength to sustain.

As one's strength and influence grow day by day, a person's mindset inevitably changes.

Standing at a certain height, the way one perceives things becomes different.

Before, Moya had been racking his brains just to survive; now, he had already begun planning for the future after establishing his own power.

After putting on the clothes brought by his crew, Moya took Nami to the banquet grounds in the center of the village, where the Fishmen were tied up like rice dumplings.

The Moya Adventure Group had actually lost over a hundred men, while fifty or so Fishmen had died. Under such a siege, to still maintain a two-to-one casualty ratio, the average combat power of the Fishmen was evident.

What surprised Moya slightly was that Arlong was still alive, though he was crippled—a truly shocking vitality.

However, it didn't matter much; whether he lived or died would be up to Nami.

"Nami, take a look and see which of these Fishmen harmed you, and you can execute them! Or actually, never mind—I'll leave the fate of all these Fishmen entirely up to you."

Moya cast aside his last shred of kindness and said to Nami.

With slightly reddened eyes, Nami looked at the Fishmen she loathed. She had thought she would certainly ask Moya to kill them all.

But now that it had truly come to this, her inherently kind nature made her unwilling to let so many Fishmen die right before her eyes.

"Moya, I..."

"Sigh~"

"If you can't bring yourself to do it, leave it to me. I'll give you a satisfactory answer," Moya comforted her.

Moya took Arlong and the officer Kuroobi into the ship's cabin and activated the special ability of the Slip-Slip Fruit.

"Memory Slide Technique of Slip-Slip Fruit."

With his strength greatly increased, Moya was becoming more and more adept at using the Slip-Slip Fruit.

No problem. He dealt with the injured and weak Arlong first, sliding his memories out.

There was an unexpected harvest; perhaps if he tried this, he would know how to handle these Fishmen to gain even greater benefits.

With a better option available, he didn't deal with Kuroobi for the time being—he had originally wanted his Fishman Jujutsu and Fishman Karate.

As for Hatchan, he didn't make things difficult for him; after all, he knew Rayleigh, and Nami also knew of his kindness.

"Kneel and apologize to Nami! Kneel and apologize to everyone you have harmed!" Moya commanded loudly.

The dazed Arlong and the terrified Fishmen knelt down toward Nami and the villagers behind her. Nami couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears.

"Bell-mère~"

Moya escorted the four Fishmen and followed Nami and the others to Bell-mère's grave. The moment Arlong and his crew knelt, Nami and Nojiko were once again streaming with tears.

Moya described the scene of Bell-mère's smiling appearance, saying he felt as if he could see her soul, recounting it to Nami, Nojiko, and Genzo.

In the imaginations of Nami and the others, Bell-mère appeared silently before them, looking at them with a smile and waving her hand.

Nami threw herself into Moya's arms and sobbed, while Nojiko wiped her tears with her arm, crying as well.

Genzo reached out his hand as if trying to hold onto Bell-mère, but in the end, he could only grit his teeth and let the tears flow slowly.